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Aces High (song)
"Aces High" is a song by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, written by the band's bassist Steve Harris. It is Iron Maiden's eleventh single release and the second from their fifth studio album, Powerslave (1984). The first B-side is a cover of Nektar's "King of Twilight", from their 1972 album A Tab in the Ocean. Their cover is actually a medley of the songs "Crying in the Dark" and "King of Twilight", the last two songs on the album. The Japanese 12" was mixed with the B-side covers from "The Trooper" & "2 Minutes To Midnight" singles. Song information The song's lyrics are written from the viewpoint of a British RAF pilot fighting against the German Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain (1940), the first military engagement to be fought entirely with aircraft.92 Squadron - Geoffrey Wellum , RAF website "Aces High" is one of Iron Maiden's most popular songs, and has been covered numerous times. It is featured in the video game Madden NFL 10, the MTV show Nitro Circus, and Steve Peat's segment in the mountain bike film New World Disorder III. Colin McKay used the song on his part of the skate video Plan B Questionable. It can also be found in the soundtrack of the game Carmageddon II: Carpocalypse Now. Live performances "Aces High" is frequently used as the opening song for Iron Maiden concerts. As seen in concert videos such as Live After Death and Iron Maiden: Flight 666, it is usually preceded by Winston Churchill's "We shall fight on the beaches" speech with the sound of planes in the background. Churchill's speech was also included at the beginning of the song's music video. In a 2014 interview with ''Q'' magazine, Gerard Way said that "the live version of 'Aces High' off the Live After Death album was the song that first made him interested in performing live."Q #341, December 2014, p48 Track listing ;7" single ;12" single ;Japanese and Brazilian 12" single Personnel Production credits are adapted from the 7 inch vinyl, and 12 inch vinyl covers.> ;Iron Maiden * Bruce Dickinson - vocals * Dave Murray - guitar * Adrian Smith - guitar * Steve Harris - bass guitar * Nicko McBrain - drums ;Production *Martin Birch – producer, engineer *Derek Riggs – cover illustration Appearances * A version recorded in the summer of 1996 by Arch Enemy was – as guitarist Michael Amott observed in the liner notes to Wages of Sin (on which the cut reappears) – "released on the Japanese Iron Maiden tribute album Made In Tribute. This one turned out really intense, and was easily one of the better songs on a really terrible collection of Iron Maiden cover versions." * It was covered in 2005 by Jeff Scott Soto (Yngwie Malmsteen), Nuno Bettencourt (Extreme), Billy Sheehan (Mr. Big, Niacin), and Vinny Appice (Black Sabbath, Dio) – drums on the tribute album Numbers from the Beast.Numbers From The Beast Last.FM entry * It was covered in 2005 by Scott Lavender on the album The Piano Tribute to Iron Maiden.Scott Lavender - Aces High Last.FM entry * It was covered in 2006 by Concord Dawn (featuring State of Mind) on the album Chaos by Design.Concord Dawn - Aces High Discography * It was covered in 2006 by The Iron Maidens on the album The Iron MaidensThe Iron Maidens Last.FM entry * It was covered in 2008 by Children of Bodom on the album Skeletons in the Closet.Children of Bodom - Aces High Last.FM entry *It was covered in 2011 by Reinxeed on the album 1912 * It was covered in 2013 by Thomas Zwijsen on the album Nylon Maiden Chart Performance Notes References External links *Aces High - original video on Youtube Category:Iron Maiden songs Category:1984 singles Category:Songs about the military Category:Songs about aviation Category:Songs written by Steve Harris (musician) Category:1984 songs Category:EMI Records singles